1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to baseball gloves and mitts, and more specifically to an inflatable baseball glove for use in catching foul balls and the like while attending a baseball game.
2. Description of the Related Art
Baseball is truly the great American pastime, drawing both active participation at a variety of levels and serving as entertainment for audiences across the globe. When viewing a major league baseball game in person, one of the greatest thrills that can befall a baseball lover is to catch a foul ball or, better yet, a home run. While these souvenirs are distributed routinely during every game, the odds that one will be sent the way of a single fan out of the thousands in attendance maintains this occurrence as a rarity. As a result, when one gets a chance to catch a foul ball or home run, he or she had better make the best of it as second chances do not come easy. Accordingly, many fans choose to bring along a baseball glove when attending a game just in case such an opportunity arises. Furthermore, being struck by these hard, fast moving projectiles can cause serious injuries, and the baseball glove can serve as protection therefrom. Many people, however, do not own baseball gloves and the price of a new one is extremely prohibitive. As a culmination of these contributing notions, the need has arisen for a means by which baseball fans can effectively catch foul and home run balls while protecting themselves from injuries in being struck by the same, that is inexpensive and easy to use. The present invention fulfills this need by providing an inflatable baseball glove that is lightweight and easily transported, yet effective in providing a means by which to catch a baseball or the like.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, several references to conventional baseball gloves designs and other similar devices and improvements thereto were discovered. These devices neither anticipate nor disclose any embodiment that would preclude the novelty and the utilitarian functionality of the features of the present invention.
The following patents describe conventional baseball gloves that are fit with variably inflatable pneumatic bladders that serve to enhance the cushioning capacity of the glove, providing a more comfortable feel:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,088, issued in the name of Walker et al.; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,866, issued in the name of Walker et al.; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,865, issued in the name of Walker et al.; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,864, issued in the name of Walker et al.; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,530, issued in the name of Smith. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,704, issued in the name of Greenhalgh; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,369, issued in the name of Stern; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,202, issued in the name of Stern; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,827, issued in the name of Stern; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,418, issued in the name of Jaskiewicz; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,975, issued in the name of Harreld et al.; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,333, issued in the name of Sweet et al.; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 310,255, issued in the name of Gammon.
Several other related patents include:
While several features exhibited within these references may be incorporated into this invention, alone and in combination with other elements, the present invention is sufficiently different so as to make it distinguishable over the prior art.